Vintage sport!

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Enough with tiring and non-motivating fitness activities: today workouts should be fun.

And this is one of the reasons some are looking back to the past and digging up yesteryear equipments, designed in a modern key, to combine games and workouts. Starting from the hula-hoop, of which Michelle Obama is a fan: it seems she even resisted 261 rotations!

To reach (or get near) the First Lady’s record we should keep our buttocks contract while the hoop rotates on our hips. “It’s a constant workout that tones the back muscles and abs,” says Stefano Carlini, personal trainer and FIF (Federazione Italiana Fitness) teacher. “Without forgetting that is is good for our bust posture and helps better our coordination.”

So much so that the iconic hula-hoop has become a star of a gym class called Hula-Fit Total Body Workout (in all Virgin Active centers in Italy), which includes four phases: warm-up, aerobics, muscle conditioning, and lastly stretching and cool-down. In one hour, thanks to the sinuous movement of the hips, you can brun up to 400 calories.

There is also the big comeback of bowls playing: today every city has an association that hosts classes. Contrary to what many may think, it is truly a sport, also loved by women.

Thanks to its slightly retro charm, filled with memories of days spent at the beach, or thanks to that mix of calculation, patience and strategy typical of the female spirit… the fact is that the enrollment of women in city clubs that are part of the Federazione Italiana Bocce are today increasing.

“You do movement without forcing the muscles, it helps the circulation, it moves joints, and you develop elasticity and balance,” says once again the personal trainer. “There’s more: it’s a team sport that doesn’t include physical contact and it’s rich with rules, perfect for kids that are not used to facing peers.”

Even ropes, another item from our childhood, are living a golden moment: it has transformed into the "jumping rope", an evolution of the classic jumps, great to strengthen upper muscles, legs, calves and the reactivity of the feet’s muscles. In fitness centers it’s often suggested to complete the fit-combat activities such as kick-boxing, but you can try it out even at home.

The rope must be folded in half and have a length that is equal to the distance between the feet and the waist. While looking forward, jump with your feet together or taking turns with the left and the right foot: you can achieve great results even with a fifteen-minute workout everyday, to end, as always, with some stretching.

Balls have been used in gyms for quite some time, but today they have become the protagonists of cardiovascular circuits to lose weight, increase stamina and to get back in shape (you burn more than 1000 calories per hour). It has transformed into a "kettlebell", it has a handle and weights at least 8 kg.

“With this ball you can strengthen the results of physical activity on the floor, especially regarding the reshaping of the area of the legs, abs, buttocks, through focused lunges and squats,” states Stefano Carlini.